On Wednesday, The Braves announced the signing of the outfielder, a free agent. Alex Dickerson to a non-guaranteed deal with the Major Leagues that includes a base salary of $1 million. Dickerson, a client of Moye Sports Associates, will be on a roster of 40 for now and will report ahead of Major League Spring Practice.
After playing 95 games for the Padres in 2015 and 2016, several injuries cost him two full seasons: a bulging disc and a torn UCL kept him out of 2017 or 2018 at all. Dickerson was able to have a good comeback season in 2019 however, he split his time between the Padres and the Giants. He appeared in 68 games, making 190 plate appearances, hitting .276/.332/.489, wRC+ out of 112.
2020 was a huge year for the outfielder as he hit 10 home runs in a pandemic-shortened season, finishing the campaign with a .298/.371/.576 wRC+ of 151. Unfortunately, the injuries hit again in 2021. , limiting him to 111 games and a .233/.304/.420 line, wRC+ of 97. The Giants named him for a November assignment to make room on the roster for Anthony DeSclafani.
For Atlanta, this is a low-risk bet on a player who has shown flashes of genius when healthy. $1 million is barely more than the league’s minimum wage, which is now $700,000 in the new CBA. It’s also not guaranteed, meaning the club won’t be on the hook if Dickerson’s past injury problems persist this year. Since this is a non-guaranteed deal, Dickerson will receive a lower rate if he is in the junior classes and not on a major league team. Theoretically, he could have turned down the extra assignment given that he has over five years in MLB, but it looks like he signed such a deal knowing he could spend some time in Triple-A.
For the Braves, their incredible run to the World Series last year included the acquisition of a number of outfielders who were scheduled to become free agents at the end of the year: Jorge Soler, Jock Pederson as well as Eddie Rosario. They have since re-signed Rosario to join Adam Duvall, Marcel Ozuna, Guillermo Heredia, Orlando Arcia, Travis Demeritt as well as Drew Waters in the far mix. Ronald Acuna Jr. still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament tear and hopes to be back by May. This somewhat crowded picture could be helped by this year’s introduction of a designated hitter for National League teams. Dickerson never received favorable ratings for his defense, making him a good fit for the DH for a while, especially given his injury history.